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Fear the Walking Dead
| creator = | based_on = | starring = | theme_music_composer = Atticus Ross | opentheme = | endtheme = | composer = Paul Haslinger | country = United States | language = English | num_seasons = 2 | num_episodes = 21 | list_episodes = List of Fear the Walking Dead episodes | executive_producer = | producer = | editor = | location = | cinematography = | camera = | runtime = 43–65 minutes | company = | distributor = | channel = AMC | picture_format = | audio_format = | first_aired = | last_aired = present | preceded_by = | followed_by = | related = | website = http://www.amctv.com/shows/fear-the-walking-dead | website_title = Official website | production_website = | production_website_title = }} Fear the Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series created by Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson, that premiered on AMC on August 23, 2015. It is a companion series and prequel to The Walking Dead, which is based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The first season consists of six episodes. The second season, comprising 15 episodes, premiered on April 10, 2016. On April 15, 2016, AMC announced the series had been renewed for a 16-episode third season, which is scheduled to premiere on June 4, 2017. In April 2017, AMC renewed the series for a fourth season and announced that Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg would replace the departing Dave Erickson as showrunners. Set initially in Los Angeles, California and then later in Mexico, the series follows a dysfunctional, blended family composed of high school guidance counselor Madison Clark, her English teacher boyfriend Travis Manawa, her daughter Alicia, her drug-addicted son Nick, Travis' son from a previous marriage, Chris, Chris' mother Liza Ortiz, and others who join their group at the onset of the zombie apocalypse. They must reinvent themselves, learning new skills and adopting new attitudes in order to survive as civilization collapses around them. Cast and characters Main cast * Kim Dickens as Madison Clark, a high school guidance counselor, Travis' girlfriend, Alicia and Nick's mother, and Chris' quasi-stepmother. * Cliff Curtis as Travis Manawa, a high school English teacher and Madison's boyfriend, who shares custody of his son, Chris, with his ex-wife, Liza. * Frank Dillane as Nick Clark, Madison's 19-year-old son, a heroin addict who flunked out of community college. * Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia Clark, Madison's overachieving teenage daughter and a model student. * Elizabeth Rodriguez as Liza Ortiz, a no-nonsense nursing student, Travis' ex-wife, and Chris' mother. (season 1; guest season 2) * Mercedes Mason as Ofelia Salazar, a hardworking professional with immigrant parents Daniel and Griselda. * Lorenzo James Henrie as Christopher Manawa, Travis and Liza's rebellious teenage son who resents his father for their divorce. (seasons 1–2) * Rubén Blades as Daniel Salazar, a barber, Griselda's husband, Ofelia's father, and a Salvadoran refugee who protects his family at any cost. * Colman Domingo as Victor Strand, a smart and sophisticated businessman with a mysterious past. (season 2; recurring season 1) * Michelle Ang as Alex, one of the few survivors of a plane crash whom the Los Angeles group encounters in season 2. Alex is introduced in the Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462 web series. (season 2) * Daniel Sharman as Troy, described as having a wild temperament and suspicious of outsiders, who is charismatic with a cruel streak. (season 3) Recurring cast Los Angeles * Patricia Reyes Spíndola as Griselda Salazar, Ofelia's mother, who emigrated from El Salvador with her husband Daniel to escape political unrest. (season 1; guest season 2) * Scott Lawrence as Artie Costa, the principal at the high school where Madison and Travis work. (season 1) * Lincoln A. Castellanos as Tobias, a wise-beyond-his-years high school senior. * Maestro Harrell as Matt, Alicia's boyfriend. (season 1) * Shawn Hatosy as Cpl. Andrew Adams, a well-intentioned military man with a soulful disposition, who is out of his element. (season 1) * Jamie McShane as Lt. Moyers, the leader of the National Guard contingent in charge of protecting Madison's neighborhood. He does not take the complaints of the citizens too seriously and is a loose cannon. (season 1) * Sandrine Holt as Dr. Bethany Exner, a confident and skilled doctor. (season 1) International waters * Arturo Del Puerto as Luis Flores, an ally and right-hand man of Victor Strand and Thomas Abigail. (season 2) * Daniel Zovatto as Jack Kipling (season 2) * Jesse McCartney as Reed, Connor's brother and a hostile member of the pirates. (season 2) * Veronica Diaz as Vida, a pregnant woman and one of Connor's pirates. (season 2) Mexico * Marlene Forte as Celia Flores, Luis's mother. (season 2) * Dougray Scott as Thomas Abigail, Strand's partner and the apparent namesake of the boat Abigail. (season 2) * Danay García as Luciana, a member of the La Colonia community in Tijuana, México, who helps Nick and believes that the walkers are not a bad thing. (season 2) * Paul Calderón as Alejandro, a pharmacist and leader of La Colonia, a community in Tijuana, Mexico, he claims to have been bitten, but did not die. (season 2) * Karen Bethzabe as Elena Tobar, hotel manager who helps Alicia. (season 2) * Andres Londono as Oscar, leader of a group of survivors living at a hotel. (season 2) * Brenda Strong as Ilene Stowe, a member of the wedding party and mother in law of Oscar. (season 2) * Kelly Blatz as Brandon Luke, leader of a group of young men that befriend Chris. (season 2) * Kenny Wormald as Derek, a member of Brandon's group. (season 2) * Israel Broussard as James McCalister, a member of Brandon's group. (season 2) Series overview Production Development In September 2013, AMC announced they were developing a companion series to The Walking Dead, which follows a different set of characters created by Robert Kirkman. In September 2014, AMC ordered a pilot, which was written by Kirkman and Dave Erickson, and directed by Adam Davidson, and is executive produced by Kirkman, Erickson, Gale Anne Hurd, and David Alpert, with Erickson serving as showrunner. The project was originally known as Cobalt; Kirkman confirmed, in March 2015, that the series would be titled Fear the Walking Dead. On March 9, 2015, AMC announced it had ordered FTWD to series, with a two-season commitment: the first season, comprising six episodes, premiered on August 23, 2015; the second season, comprising 15 episodes, premiered on April 10, 2016. AMC announced in April 2016 that they had renewed the series for a third season of 16 episodes to premiere in 2017. In March 2017, it was announced that co-creator Dave Erickson would be stepping down as showrunner after the conclusion of the third season. On April 14, 2017, AMC announced that they had renewed the show for a fourth season with new showrunners, Andrew Chambliss and Ian B. Goldberg, and that Scott M. Gimple, executive producer and showrunner of The Walking Dead will become an executive producer. Casting In December 2014, the first four starring roles were cast: Kim Dickens as Madison, the female lead; Cliff Curtis as Travis Manawa, the male lead; Frank Dillane as Nick; and Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia. In April and May, 2015, Elizabeth Rodriguez and Mercedes Mason were announced as series regulars, both in unknown roles. Filming Production of the pilot episode began in early 2015 and ended on February 6, 2015. The pilot episode was filmed in Los Angeles; the remaining first-season episodes were filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Production on the remaining five first-season episodes began on May 11, 2015. Adam Davidson, who directed the pilot, also directed the series' second and third episodes. Filming for the second season began in December 2015, with production moving to Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico. Filming for the third season began on January 6, 2017, in Baja California, Mexico, the same location site used for the second half of season two. Broadcast On August 23, 2015, the series debuted simultaneously worldwide on: AMC in the U.S.; AMC Global in major regional markets in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East; and FX in Australia. Hulu holds the show's video on demand rights in the U.S., while Amazon Instant Video owns the streaming rights in Austria and Germany, and will make episodes available online one day after their original airing. Streaming in the United Kingdom became available to Amazon Prime members in 2016. Reception Critical response Season 1 On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a rating of 77%, based on 57 reviews, whose average rating is 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Fear the Walking Dead recycles elements of its predecessor, but it's still moody and engrossing enough to compete with the original." On Metacritic, the season has a score of 66 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Elisabeth Vincentelli of the New York Post rated the first two episodes three out of four stars, stating that "They are creepily suspenseful–they're great examples of how effective a slow pace and a moody atmosphere can be." Another positive review of the first episode came from Ken Tucker of Yahoo TV, who wrote, "Fear the Walking Dead is a mood piece, more artful than the original series" and that the cast is "terrific". Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter gave an average review, writing, "The 90-minute first episode and the hour-long second episode are, while not actually boring, certainly less magnetic than the original." One of the harshest negative reviews came from HitFix, on Daniel Fienberg and Alan Sepinwall's podcast, where Fienberg called the premiere episode "awful, just horrible ... as bad as The Walking Dead has ever gotten at its very worst. This is that bad. I've been kind of stunned to see people being generous to it. ... I thought this was almost unwatchably bad." Sepinwall called his B- review "slightly generous". Season 2 The second season received mostly mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a rating of 71%, based on 26 reviews, whose average rating is 6.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Fear the Walking Dead sets sail in its sophomore season with an intriguing backdrop that doesn't always disguise its deficiencies in comparison to its predecessor." On Metacritic, the season has a score of 54 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Ratings The U.S. series premiere attracted 10.1 million total viewers, with 6.3 million in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic, both cable television records for a series premiere. Numerous international debuts of the pilot also set ratings records. The first season averaged 11.2 million viewers in "live plus-3" ratings (includes VOD and DVR viewing within three days after initial telecast) to become the highest-rated first season of any series in cable history. | end1 = | premiere1 = 10.13 | finale1 = 6.86 | season1 = 2014–15 | viewers1 = 7.61 | link2 = Fear the Walking Dead (season 2) | episodes2 = 15 | start2 = | end2 = | premiere2 = 6.67 | finale2 = 3.05 | season2 = 2015–16 | viewers2 = 4.19 }} Awards and nominations Web series Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462 Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462, a 16-part web series, premiered on October 4, 2015, on AMC.com; it also aired as promos during The Walking Dead season 6. Two of the web series' characters, Alex (previously known as Charlie) and Jake, are introduced in Fear the Walking Dead season 2, episode 3 ("Ouroboros"). Fear the Walking Dead: Passage A second 16-part web series debuted on October 17, 2016, and episodes are made available online weekly and air as promos during the seventh season of The Walking Dead. The web series follows Sierra, a capable survivor, who helps an injured woman named Gabi as they try to find sanctuary. The series was written by Lauren Signorino and Mike Zunic, and directed by Andrew Bernstein. Home media The first season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 1, 2015. A special edition version of the first season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 22, 2016, with new bonus features, including deleted scenes, seven featurettes, and audio commentaries by cast and crew, on all six episodes. The second season, featuring audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and various behind-the-scene featurettes, was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 13, 2016. References External links * * Category:2010s American television series Category:2015 American television series debuts Category:Fear the Walking Dead Category:AMC (TV channel) network shows Category:American LGBT-related television shows Category:English-language television programming Category:Post-apocalyptic television series Category:Prequel television series Category:Television series produced in Vancouver Category:Television shows set in Los Angeles Category:Television shows set in Mexico Category:Television spin-offs Category:The Walking Dead Category:Television series about viral outbreaks Category:Zombies in television Category:Television series about dysfunctional families Category:2015 television series debuts